LAHORE: Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Secretary Haider Hussain has announced that the issue between the PHF and Pakistan Navy regarding Sufyan Khan, one of the potential players for the Junior Asia Cup training camp, has been resolved.

This comes after the Navy withdrew their arrest warrant for Sufyan.

Haider, a former international player, told reporters on Saturday that the PHF had held detailed discussions with Director Sports Mohammad Kamran of Pakistan Navy regarding the matter.

“The Navy authorities have assured us that all cases against Sufyan will be withdrawn, and they have also pledged their cooperation with the PHF, as in the past,” Haider said.

The PHF secretary expressed his gratitude to the naval chief for taking interest in resolving the matter, and assured the Navy that all issues would be resolved one by one.

“What has happened has happened, and now our focus is on preparing the national junior team for the Asian event,” he said.

“Sufyan is a national asset and we cannot ignore him in the camp,” Haider added.

On Monday, some Navy officials came to the DHA Hockey Stadium in Lahore, where the national junior training camp has been in operation for the past month, to arrest Sufyan. The officials claimed that Sufyan had left the Navy without following the department’s procedure.

According to a complaint filed by the coaches of the camp to the PHF, the coaches had informed the Navy officials that Sufyan was not present on the rest day.

However, the officials misbehaved with the coaches and lined up the potential players.

After receiving the complaints, the PHF secretary brought the matter to the attention of the naval chief, who promptly resolved the matter.

Sufyan is now attending the training camp, having left the Navy to join the Maripur Gas team.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2023